I had my right hip replacement surgery scheduled at Sanford Orthopedics. I arrived that morning and was placed in a pre-op room. The room was very, very hot – to the point of being extremely uncomfortable. In addition to the room temperature, I was very nervous because even though I am 75 years old, I had never been operated on. My nurse was Trinh. After asking that I change into a hospital gown and that my personal property would be locked up, she asked if the chair/bed was comfortable enough. I am 6’5 and weigh over 300 lbs. I mentioned that I was nervous and very warm. She turned on an air-conditioning unit and put the hose under my gown so I could cool off. We joked back and forth, and she put me at ease by explaining that several other nurses and my surgeon would be coming to check on me.

Each time someone new came into the room, Trinh introduced them and explained what procedure they were going to do. I had already told her that I had never had surgery before, and she made me feel that I was in good hands and not to worry about anything. The surgeon came in, introduced himself, and said a prayer that my surgery would be successful. Wow! After what seemed like an hour, Trinh and several others wheeled me down to the operating room. At that point, I wasn’t feeling nervous under her excellent care. BTW, I am legally blind, and that day, Trinh let me see everything through her eyes!